Ever since I was little, baked ziti has been one of my favorite meals that my mom makes. Surprisingly though, I was a bit of a picky eater growing up and I would only eat the jarred tomato sauce with no chunks of tomatoes in it!

Within the past few years, my mom insisted that I try her signature ziti sauce that is full of Italian sausage, pepperoni, and a ton of delicious flavor! Of course, I loved it and haven't gone back to jarred sauce since. :)

However, if you have kids that are as I picky as I was, (or a husband who won't eat sausage!) then you can bake this dinner and substitute a jarred sauce for one of the dishes.

I also love that I can make the sauce and freeze individual portions for a quick meal on a busy night!

Total Time for the Sauce: 1 hourTime (if using pre-made sauce): 25 minutes

In a large pot (8 qt. or larger), start to brown the sausage and pepperoni, breaking up sausage as it cooks. When it is about halfway done, add the onions and garlic**. Continue cooking until the sausage is browned. Drain the fat from the pan.

Squeeze the tomatoes over the pot and add, along with the tomato juice. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and simmer on low for 45 minutes, covered.

**If you prefer to not have chunks of garlic, onions, or tomatoes in your sauce, you can pulverize in a food processor before adding.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baked Ziti Ingredients (for each individual serving):

1 cup Baked Ziti Sauce (above)

4 ounces cooked ziti noodles (according to package directions)

3-4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place noodles in an oven-proof baking dish. Pour sauce over the top and stir to cover all of the noodles**. Cover with cheese, all the way to the edges.

Bake 10 minutes or until cheese browns to your liking. Place baking dish on a plate and serve with garlic toast! Enjoy!

**If sauce is frozen, defrost in microwave and/or heat in a small sauce pan.